For the first time ever, Philippine football will be showcased on the global stage on Friday, July 21, when the Filipinas step onto the pitch at the Forsyth Barr Stadium against Switzerland.

It promises to be an emotional moment for the Philippine women’s national football team, which has experienced a rapid rise in the past two years — a rise that will culminate in their first-ever participation in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

After narrowly missing out from qualifying for the 2019 edition of the global showcase, the Filipinas made sure that another opportunity would not elude them. They reached the semifinals of the AFF Women’s Asian Cup in February 2022 in cardiac fashion — defeating Chinese Taipei in a penalty shootout, in the process clinching their ticket to the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.

What followed was a year for the ages. Though they lost to South Korea in the semis of the Women’s Asian Cup, the Filipinas went on to win a breakthrough bronze medal in the Southeast Asian Games, then lifted their first-ever major trophy — the AFF Women’s Championship — on home soil in July. They became one of the most well-traveled teams in women’s football, with camps in Europe and South America, playing friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, and New Zealand.

All roads have led the team to Dunedin, New Zealand, where they will play world’s no. 20 Switzerland in their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup match. The Filipinas are part of Group A along with European powerhouse Norway and co-host New Zealand.

“I’m really proud of everyone for their collective effort,” Filipinas coach Alen Stajcic said recently.

“Now, it’s time to go to the biggest women’s sporting event in the world, and try to do the best that we can,” he said.

“It really is a magical moment for the country, and we hope that everyone is proud of the fight that we’re going to show in those games,” he added. (ABS-CBN News)